Reykjavik Northern Lights Tours
Reykjavik Northern Lights Tours › Reykjavik Northern Lights with Kids: Ages, Late Nights and Warm LayersUpdated 2026-09-23

Reykjavik Northern Lights with Kids: Ages, Late Nights and Warm Layers

Hours, prices and access verified by the Reykjavik Northern Lights Tours team — last checked 2026-09-23.

A railed boardwalk through snowy lava under a sky full of aurora

The short answer. Yes, children can hunt the northern lights from Reykjavík, but three things decide whether it works: the minimum age on the listing, a night that ends after midnight, and the cold of standing still in the dark. Most stated minimum ages sit at 5 to 7, some start at 10 or 13, and the boats sail for just two hours. Check the age before any Reykjavik Northern Lights booking, then plan the day around a late night.

Is it worth it with children?

For most families, yes, with the right night. A child who has seen the aurora ripple green over a dark field does not forget it. Gurjinder_S says the whole family enjoyed the small-group hunt. Nicola_J booked the Super Jeep hunt for four young children, and the guide kept them going through the cold wait. The risk is not the sky, which is out of anyone’s hands. It is a tired, cold child at one in the morning on a night with nothing overhead.

Minimum ages, by kind of night

Ages vary more than prices. Check the listing before you book, not after.

Kind of nightAges
The small-group hunt with jumpsuitsChildren 5 to 15
The Super Jeep huntFrom 5; child fares 5 to 12
The minibus hunt with pastriesFrom 5
The boat from the Old HarbourChild fares 6 to 15; infants under 6
The big-coach huntFrom 6
The minibus hunt with photosFrom 6
The small-group hunt with guide photosChildren 7 to 17
The 4x4 minibus huntFrom 8
The super jeep hunt with a telescopeFrom 10
The small group with wool blanketsFrom 13
The private car and local guideChild fares from 4

Under-fives have the fewest options: both boats book infants, and the private car and local guide has a child fare from 4. The small group with jumpsuits, the Super Jeep and the minibus with pastries all start at 5.

What children love most

  • The photos. Many hunts photograph you under the lights, and a picture of your child with the aurora overhead is the thing families take home.
  • The vehicle. A Super Jeep on big wheels is an event in itself.
  • The props. The small-group hunt with guide photos brings Viking weapons and outfits to play with while you wait.
  • The telescope. The super jeep with a telescope adds stargazing, from age 10.
  • The deck. On the boat you can move between the deck and a heated lounge, and Richard_S found the guide took great care with children’s questions.

What to prepare for

The hour. Pickups run from about 20:30, and most hunts last three to five hours. Plan for a return after midnight, and sometimes much later. A nap in the afternoon helps more than anything else you can do.

The cold. Reykjavík’s winter averages sit around 0 °C, but you stand still in the wind for long spells. Dress children in more layers than you think, with mittens, a hat that covers the ears, and boots with grip. Some fares help: the boat lends warm overalls, the small group with jumpsuits brings winter jumpsuits and outdoor chairs, and the 4x4 minibus provides hand warmers.

The waiting. Shahana_B, travelling as a family on the big-coach hunt, warns of a lot of waiting and watching. Bring a small game, a snack and a flask if the fare allows.

The toilet. Facilities outside town are very limited. Nicole_N, travelling as a family on the late minibus, valued the guide’s toilet stops. Some coaches carry a restroom on board, and the boats have toilets.

Important. A hunt that runs and finds nothing is not refunded. Book the first clear-looking night of your trip so a retry has nights left, and read how the forecast works before you promise the children anything.

The best options for families

For the youngest, or a short night: the boat from the Old Harbour. Two hours, no pickup and no long drive, with warm overalls and a heated lounge. It sails from $105. Its limit is cloud: it cannot drive to a gap.

For children from five: the small group with jumpsuits, which also brings chairs and tripods and offers a free retry depending on availability. Or the Super Jeep, from $244, with one free rebook.

For children from seven: the small-group hunt, from $159, with unlimited retries and photos by the guide. Ask about the length of the night before you go. Amanda_O was out for more than five hours.

For a bigger family on a budget: the minibus hunt with pastries takes children from 5, caps the group at 19 and lends woollen blankets, from $166. It rebooks a night that runs without lights, subject to availability, but it does not refund one.

For your own pace: a private hunt, from $260 a person, stops when your children have had enough. The visitor guide compares every kind of fare.

Practical tips for a family night

  • Book early in your stay, so a retry or a weather reschedule still fits.
  • Eat a proper dinner before pickup; most fares do not include one.
  • Pack spare gloves: wet gloves at midnight end the night fast.
  • Keep a phone charged for the go or no-go message in the late afternoon.
  • Plan a slow next morning, not an early day trip.
  • Ask the guide to put the children in the frame when the photos start.
  • Carry a small torch and point it at the ground, so everyone’s eyes stay used to the dark.
Useful tip. Choose a pickup close to your door. The pickup points shows which stops serve which streets, so you are not walking children across town at 20:30.

Setting expectations before you go

Children picture the photos they have seen online. Tell them before the night that the aurora can be faint, that it can look grey to the eye and green on a camera, and that some nights show nothing. Sean_D says it plainly: you see more on a camera than in person. A child who expects a slow glow and gets curtains overhead remembers the night for years; a child who expects curtains and gets a glow feels cheated.

Give them a job. One can watch the northern horizon, one can hold the torch with its light pointed at the ground, one can count shooting stars. On a quiet night the guide’s stories do a lot of work: Nicole_N’s family had a weak display on the late minibus and still valued the facts about the lights. If the hunt finds nothing, your photos of the jeep, the snow and the stars are part of the story too.

Which night of your trip

With children, the first night is often the hardest, after a long flight and a new time zone. Pick the first night after that on which the forecast looks promising, and keep a spare evening behind it. Brenda_E booked the small-group hunt for the first night of the trip, knowing it might not run; it was moved twice and ran on the last night. That kind of flexibility is what a retry is for. The FAQs explain how cancellations and retries differ.

What to combine it with

Perlan’s Áróra film, an 8K planetarium show about the northern lights, runs from 9:00 to 21:00, which makes it a daytime warm-up for the night, or a fallback if the sky stays shut. When to go shows which months give the longest dark nights, and the weather by month what to pack for each.

Family-friendly northern lights nights

Next: Check the minimum age, then book the earliest night you can. Every fare sits side by side on Reykjavik Northern Lights Tours.